Our Town: A sign that maybe Calgarians aren't driving with care

June 2, 2016 10:50 am

There’s an obvious irony to a Drive with Care sign that has been flattened.

Less obvious is the origin of this mild admonition installed on the median of Crowchild Trail just past 24th Avenue N.W., where it is visible to motorists heading south. Arguably, the sign in its current state is a more effective warning of the consequences of distracted driving. Two identical signs are visible to northbound traffic travelling beneath the 16th Avenue overpass, but, being bolted to the wall, those ones would appear to be safe from unpredictable motorists.

The Drive with Care signs seem to be unique items in the City of Calgary’s inventory. Are they the remnants of a long-gone safety campaign? A forgotten police warning? Our call to the City of Calgary proved initially inconclusive. “It’s kind of a little bit of a mystery here,” said Chris McGeachy, a communications adviser with the City of Calgary Roads Department.

McGeachy did some digging (as with its trees and public art, the city keeps an inventory of all its signs and poles) and found that the sign shop had last updated its file on the Drive with Care signs in 2011, but could not determine when they were installed. (If you notice a sign that is out of sorts, you should probably phone 311 instead of taking a picture.)

After further investigation, McGeachy hit paydirt. The signs were installed in 2002 as placeholders for signs that staff at McMahon Stadium would put over top of them when the Stampeders were playing. These temporary signs were a bit more specific and warned motorists to watch for pedestrians. The stadium stopped putting up the game-day signs a few years ago, but the city let the Drive with Care signs stand. That is, until a recent city audit of traffic control and safety improvements.

“Those signs have been deemed to not represent standard specifications and they’re slated to be retired,” perhaps as early as this summer, McGeachy says. But though the signs will be gone, we hope you’ll agree that the importance of staying alert behind the wheel will never go out of style.

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